Gaza: New evidence suggests that 15 Palestinian aid workers killed by Israeli forces in Rafah on March 23, 2025, may have been shot execution-style.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), which lost nine medics in the attack, called it one of the darkest moments of the war. The killings occurred during a rescue mission in the Tal as-Sultan neighbourhood, where the group vanished after the area was attacked.
Forensic analyst Ahmad Dhaher, who examined five of the bodies at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, told The Guardian that bullet wounds suggested close-range, targeted shots to the head, heart, and torso. Although decomposition made it difficult to be conclusive, the nature of the wounds points to deliberate execution.
The aid workers included nine PRCS medics, six civil defense personnel, and one UN employee. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), after the first team was killed, additional emergency responders searching for them were hit repeatedly over several hours. A week later, 15 bodies were found buried in the sand, described by OCHA as a “mass grave.” One PRCS staff member remains missing.
PRCS President Younes al-Khatib told the UN Security Council that their dispatchers heard a conversation in Hebrew between Israeli soldiers and some of the aid workers, indicating that some were alive in Israeli custody before their deaths.
Israel’s military claimed there were Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters among the medics, alleging their presence endangered lives, but has launched an internal investigation. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, reiterated this stance.
So far, 408 humanitarian workers have been killed during the Gaza war, including 280 UN staff. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the incident raises serious concerns over potential war crimes and called for an independent and prompt investigation.
